Personal computers have become so popular that for many people, they are indispensable, if not an actual necessity. In most offices, a personal computer in some form can be found on every worker's desk. Moreover, it is not unusual for an average family to own multiple computers. Often, each member of a family will have their own computer, and these computers will be located in different rooms of the residence.
One of the reasons for the expanding popularity of personal computers is the Internet. Via the Internet, personal computers can be used to “surf the Web,” view streaming video, purchase and download music, movies, and software, and for many other activities. Many applications of the computer that require accessing the Internet are impractical over dial-up connections; thus, high-speed digital subscriber line (DSL) and broadband digital cable Internet services are rapidly increasing in popularity. Fortunately, it is not necessary to provide a separate broadband Internet access for each personal computer in a home or business. Instead, personal computers within a business or household can share a single high-speed Internet connection through a network. However, small business and/or household wiring may not be able to support a conventional Ethernet wired network because the wiring has not been installed for such a network. Certainly, rewiring an office building or a home can be an expensive and an involved undertaking.
The increasing affordability of wireless networking solves many of these problems. Many portable personal computers now include built-in wireless networking adapters capable of communicating wirelessly according to Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 protocols, such as the IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, and/or IEEE 802.11g protocols. Also, computers, as well as wireless telephones, personal digital assistants, and many other devices, include Bluetooth technology to enable short-range wireless communications. For computers not already equipped with wireless networking, adapters for both desktop and portable computers are relatively inexpensive. Moreover, these devices, along with corresponding wireless access points and/or wireless routers, can be purchased inexpensively from common home electronics or computer stores, or from online sources. With wireless access points and routers, multiple computers can readily share a broadband connection, as well as share resources on other computers in the wireless network, such as storage devices and printers.
In addition to the increasing popularity and affordability of wireless networking solutions, alternative wired networking solutions are becoming simpler and more affordable. Unlike conventional Ethernet or comparable local area networks, these alternative wired networks do not require dedicated wiring. Instead, the alternative wired networks communicate over an unused frequency range over existing wiring that is not subject to unmanageable interference from other signals passing over the existing wiring. For example, broadband over powerline (BPL) networks such as Homeplug™ allow for users to network devices by coupling the devices with adapters that plug into conventional AC electrical outlets. The adapters allow the devices to communicate over AC wiring running throughout the home or office without interfering with the primary purpose of the AC wiring to supply power. Similar systems allow networking over telephone wiring or television cable or satellite coaxial wiring without interfering with the telephone, television, or other broadband traffic carried by the coaxial wiring.
Yet, installing or adding a device to a wireless network or alternative wired network has often been viewed as a difficult task. One significant problem is the difficulty in setting up or modifying a wireless network. This task may prove particularly daunting for a user who does not have extensive personal computer skills or knowledgeable friends who might provide support. Assuming a user has the sophistication to install a broadband Internet connection, or someone else is able to install it for the user, a user's computing environment might be as shown in FIG. 1A. In this example, a basic computing environment 100a includes a single personal computer 110 with a universal serial bus (USB) port or Ethernet connection 112a that is connected by a cable to a wide area network (WAN) modem 114, such as a DSL or cable modem, which provides access to a high-speed Internet provider through a WAN (Internet) connection 116. This connection enables only a single user 120 to access Internet connection 116.
As shown in FIG. 1B, a second user 130 can be enabled to also connect through WAN connection 116 with another personal computer, such as another desktop computer, a laptop computer, or as shown in FIG. 1B, a tablet computer 140. Tablet computer 140, like many portable computers sold today, includes built-in wireless networking capability. To take advantage of the wireless networking capability of tablet computer 140, a wireless router 150 is employed to create a wireless network 100b. Wireless router 150 is coupled to WAN modem 114 by a cabled connection 112b, instead of coupling WAN modem 114 directly (with a cable) to personal computer 110 through its connection 112a (FIG. 1A). To take further advantage of wireless router 150, a wireless adapter 160 is employed to enable personal computer 110 to be relocated to another room or to a different position within the same room, where it might be inconvenient to run a cable from personal computer 110 to wireless router 150.
Ideally, personal computer 110 and tablet computer 140 would simply be turned on, and their wireless adapters would automatically establish wireless communication links 162 and 142, respectively, with wireless router 150. However, the process of establishing wireless communications between personal computer 110 and tablet computer 140 with wireless router 150 is more complex than that.
As shown in FIG. 1C, to implement many wireless networks or to add another device to a wireless network, at least one computer, such as personal computer 110, must be temporarily joined to wireless router 150 in network 100c, using a cabled connection 170. In some cases, connecting cabled connection 170 from personal computer 110 to wireless router 150 may be very inconvenient, depending on how difficult it is to access USB or Ethernet ports on personal computer 110 and wireless router 150. For example, these ports are typically on the back of both devices, and the devices may be located in positions remote from one another.
Alternatively, some wireless networks allow a new device to be added to a wireless network, but the individual adding the device to the network must know the name or service set identifier (SSID) of the wireless network, network security type and network key. Finding this information, accessing the appropriate interface for adding a device, and properly providing this information may be daunting for a user, as described below. Moreover, a number of device manufacturers use the same default network security type and network key for a number of their access point models, thus, a hacker with some familiarity with networking devices may have little trouble circumventing the security system of such an access point.
Even after the initial connection is made with a physical cable or a wireless connection, potentially greater difficulties remain. As shown in FIGS. 2A-2C, it may still be necessary to manually configure the wireless router and wireless network. In most cases, as shown in FIG. 2A, the router is configured using a web browser application 200 for entering a seemingly cryptic network address 202 into the address field 204 of web browser application 200, so that it can access the configuration software of the router. Entering the correct network address 202 will usually requires a close reading of the router documentation and careful entry of the value, once found. The network address commonly used might be 192.168.2.1, but sometimes, manufacturers use different default subnet addresses, and for businesses, the subnet might be set to an entirely different address range than the initial default. As shown in FIG. 2B, if network address 202 is entered in address field 204 correctly, a pop-up window 206 is presented soliciting a user name 208 and password 210, which must be entered to proceed with setup. Although the initial user name and password typically are reasonably simple defaults, such as “ADMIN” for both the initial user name and password, it will be important for the user to read through the router documentation and correctly enter into user name 208 and password 210 in the requested fields.
Furthermore, once the numeric address, user name, and password have all been correctly entered, as shown in FIG. 2C, the user must then configure the router and network on one or more screens, such as a setup screen 250. Setup screen 250 includes areas for entering or selecting parameters for both wired LAN connections 260 and wireless connections 280. Parameters to be entered or selected for wired LAN connections 260 include a media access control (MAC) address 262, a configuration type 264, an IP address 266, a subnet mask 268, and a gateway address 270. Parameters to be entered or selected for wireless connections 280 include a MAC address 282, a mode 284, a SSID 286, and a channel 288. Setup screen 250 may be encountered not only when the network is being installed, but also if it is necessary to add new devices to the network.
For wireless connections 280, options for wireless security include an enable 290 and a disable 292 check boxes. For many wired networking topologies, control of network access (although not necessarily all network resources) is controlled by controlling access to network ports. In other words, if the network ports all are inside a home or office to which access is controlled, presumably access to the network also is controlled. On the other hand, additional security schemes are needed for wireless schemes because such physical access control is not practical. Unless adequate wireless network security is employed, occupants of neighboring residences or offices may be able to usurp network resources, such as a broadband Internet access, or worse, access proprietary information stored within the network.
Although wireless network security is available, it is one more facet of the network a user may have to configure, and the additional steps for configuring wireless security increase the likelihood for confusion, mistakes, and frustration experienced by the user. In fact, some users may opt to disable (or at least not enable) wireless security for the sake of convenience, risking the security of network resources and information. Alternatively, some users may decide that implementation of a wireless network is too complicated and forego the entire effort.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a simple method for setting up and controlling wireless network access without the technical complications inherent in currently available methods for setting up and controlling wireless network security. In particular, it would be desirable to generally prevent devices presenting nominal security credentials from accessing the network unless those devices are determined to be eligible for provisional access, and to provide provisional access in a simple manner that does not present the complications inherent in presently used wireless security systems.